This is my first fish tank since I was about age 4 and had a disaster with a guppy family, therefore it is cleverly named "Tank A". It is a 29 gallon acrylic which is impressively lighter and clearer but this once was constructed with a barrier down the middle which makes water changes and other maintenance rather difficult. Speaking of water changes, this picture is the one picture where I DIDN'T do a weekly water change of about 80%, because my back is "out" (I'm old). I basically removed most of the debris (as I'm doing nearly daily with all my tanks) and switched out about 8 gallons of water. A friend of mine assists me some weeks with the 4 tanks I have but we are each in quarantine right now - she's the muscle and probably the brains sometimes of this operation.
I believe a tank must first be functional then beautiful. In this case I've tried to design the tank around the type of fish I have in it. So you'll see I have foliage to hide in, I have nearly 50lb slate rock cave and a number of other hiding places as well as much open swimming space (most of my fish swim in the middle and bottom levels of the tank) as possible. Other than not doing a great job of covering up the cords (I have two air bubblers in there) I'm pleased with the way it looks. I have an Aquaclear filter which gets cleaned weekly, and due to the EVIL FROGBIT PLANT my filter tube is constantly clogging so that's a near daily cleaning event. I have no need for fertilizer for the plants - I have a super-duper LED full- spectrum light clipped on top of the tank. The plants grown here supply the plants in my other tanks. Besides the Frogbit I have Wisteria, Swords, and Anubas.
Current water stats - and this is without the major water change I usually do:
Ammonia - 0, Nitrite-0, Nitrates- 0.
PH 6.8
GH=10 Dkh
KH = 4 DKh
Here are my current fish - I had a roundworm incident ( which didn't hurt the fish but I want to make sure they don't come back before getting a few more fish)
Neon Blue Dwarf Gourami (2) - middle of the tank swimmer
Red/Blue Dwarf Gourami (1) - he sometimes turns all black then back to Red and Blue - middle of the tank swimmer, since his buddy passed away he is harrassing the other fish - not NICE to watch. Hides in foliage most of the time.
Long Finned Zebra Danio (1) - he's a serial killer and killed all his school mates so no more Danios with him in the tank
Peppered Corycat (1) - I never know if he's alive he hides so well - then out he pops - have to wait for a water change to get a decent look at him. Used to have 3 of these and they would sleep one on top of the other - it was hysterical to see.
Licorice Gourami (2) - tiny little things but very pretty
Lemon Bristlenose Pleco (2) - one male, one female with zero interest in each other. Cave dwellers, the male is terrified of people the female is friendly and always has a smile on her face. The male is nearing 4-5" long and tries to squeeze himself in some of the smaller hiding places.
Thomasi L188a -(2) more cave dwellers - a male and female (when stuck to the glass you can clearly see their private parts. No interest in each other. Very difficult to locate since the match the substrate and backdrop. I never know for sure if both are alive, but I verified this.
Blue Phantom (1) - my one big splurge purchase - cost over $100 Blue with white polkadots. Unfortunately, another cave dweller that you will rarely see out and about. Amazing to look at but all in all - a boring fish.
Gardneri Panchax Killifish (2) very tiny but cute
Rainbow Praecox (1) - small fish that swims in the middle. Needs a new friend, his buddy passed away.
Snails, snails and more snails - removed by the hundreds. I try to keep the pretty red ones but they are far and few between
So this tank is my pride and joy. but is probably the most difficult to maintain give the structure - and placement of LED lights and air pump, but it's all worth it.
Good luck everybody!
